Thurrot Premium – is it worth?

by irfaanwahid

Posted on July 4, 2017

39

Hi guys,

For a while I’ve been thinking to join the Thurrot Premium, I’ve been with this site for quite a long time now and feel perhaps I could become Premium member.

However, I don’t see as many premium content. I doubt if it’s once a week.

Let me know what you guys think and advise please.

Comments (39)

39 responses to “Thurrot Premium – is it worth?”

  1. Brad Sams

    Just as an FYI, we average about two premium posts a week that are not podcasts.


    Also, as premium member, there are no ads on the site and also an optimized view for all posts too.

    4 years ago
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    • irfaanwahid

      In reply to brad-sams:

      Hey Brad.. I feel this site needs to increase Premium articles per week to attract more readers, like me.

      4 years ago
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      • Brad Sams

        In reply to irfaanwahid:

        Here's the challenge, we can't just "create" premium content out of thin air, we need a catalayst to kickoff an anayltical post.

        I fully agree, i'd love to have 10 premium posts a day but there are realities that we have to deal with as well too and one is that we dont want to sacrafice what a "premium" quality posts is defined as.

        As we move towards year two of the premium offering we are revisiting what works, what doesnt and how we can create more premium content as well.

        I love these kinds of threads and appreciate the feedback as it helps us create a better product for the readers.

        4 years ago
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    • pesos

      In reply to brad-sams:


      Brad, happy to support and have already renewed premium alpha weeks ago. I continue to get emails pestering me about renewing alpha before October. I believe my renewal should carry me well into 2018 already - is there some way you guys can stop spamming those of us who've already renewed? :-)

      4 years ago
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      • George Coll

        In reply to pesos:


        Good morning! Our apologies regarding the emails. Members who have renewed, should not be receiving the renewal emails. Our mistake.


        We appreciate you and all of our members ... and our Alpha members are certainly very special! Thank you for your support.


        4 years ago
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  2. Campbell

    I'll be renewing - used to believe that if its free why donate. Paul, and now Brad, provide good content and the daily podcasts are cracking.

    I'm still waiting on getting the offer email about the discounted renewal rate for Alpha members.

    4 years ago
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  3. RamblingGeek

    Ok, I have just subscribed for another year at the discounted rate. Keep me interested and you will get my $/£ :-)


    Good job and keep up the good work.

    4 years ago
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  4. Dave

    I really don't like any subscriptions that are on auto renewal, so if you ain't going to renew the alpha $42 rate then make sure you untick the autorenewal box or you'll be charged the full monty in October. The exchange rate £/$ is crap for us Brits so regrettably I won't be renewing.

    4 years ago
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  5. RouseKK

    I haven't found the premium content to be worth it to me, but I think that is because I'm generally less interested since Microsoft has exited the phone market. I considered not renewing, but I thought back to how much I benefited from Paul's work on his previous site and how little I directly contributed (I bought some books) to his compensation then. If for no other reason than that I am renewing my subscription.

    4 years ago
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  6. skane2600

    I can't really afford to subscribe but I thank those who do and Paul for allowing some content for free.

    4 years ago
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  7. JudaZuk

    If I'm perfectly honest I personally do not feel the premium content is worth it, there is not so much Premium content anyways. I don't feel the premium articles is that much different from the regular articles. I guess what I'm saying is, I don't see what is Premium really.


    I however did renew for a new year because I like the content overall, premium or not, and I find it well worth to pay for and help keep the site going. No ads, and great content is well worth paying for .

    4 years ago
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  8. Dan

    I did not resubscribe after my first year. I was hoping for more articles that were not Windows focused, that were written to where the market is and will be going. As Windows moves far away from anyones computing needs I feel these are really just fluff pieces at this point to fill space. This site would benefit from having someone like MJF write enterprise articles - except they would need to incorporate AWS as they are 5x's the size of Azure and all any business or even continual learning class discusses these days.

    I took a couple of BlackHAt classes in Vegas last week and the entire discussion and class labs revolved around AWS. Azure, Google, and Rackspace were mentioned in passing only.

    4 years ago
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  9. Elindalyne

    If you don't listen to the podcasts, then Premium is not worth it. If you do, then it is. Personally I believe the podcasts to be worth it as they entertain and inform me throughout the day.


    Of course you could always subscribe to support the site as well, which is definitely worth it.

    4 years ago
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  10. Chris_Kez

    I'm not sure anymore that it's "worth it" but I'm still willing to support the site, enjoy the ad-free experience, sample the daily podcast when I can, and show some love for all of the past enjoyment I got from Paul's work.

    That said, I honestly don't see a big distinction between the "Premium" and regular articles. Conceptually the "Premium" stuff is more personal/editorial or has a more unique perspective, while the regular articles are often more news-like or summaries. But I don't get the sense that the Premium articles involve any more effort, or provide something substantially different than you'd get from an editorial on another Microsoft blog site.

    Bottom line, I'd really like to see the Premium content be even more differentiated. Much of it feels like off-the-cuff editorials with a bunch of links to earlier articles. How about tapping into that rolodex or reaching out to the community and talking with developers, manufacturers, MS MVPs or people from other companies or adjacent industries to either go deep or provide a broader perspective?

    Instead of just another article lamenting the sad state of UWP and the Windows Store, how about pulling together a group of developers (someone who's made good WP/UWP apps like Rudy Hyun; someone with cross-platform experience; someone that knows a bit about UWP but focuses on enterprise/LOB apps, etc.) to talk about their experience? It needn't even be a long-form article. It could be a live special-event round-table discussion or a recorded podcast. Just something that goes broader and deeper than Paul or Brad would typically go by banging out another 1000 words.

    4 years ago
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  11. ErichK

    Like most people here have said, it'll be up to you, but I renewed my subscription yesterday because I like the content and the ad-free experience. Granted, some topics I'm more interested than others (phones don't excite me too much), but overall, I come to this site the most vs. other sites for news, info, and commentary. And the communal feel among all the members.

    4 years ago
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  12. robincapper

    I support quite a few content creators (both via patreon (inc Paul) and direct) so that's not an issue. I liked the idea of the site and signed up as a premium member to support it but not sure it represents 'value'. I rarely get the chance to hear the daily podcasts, and often much of what they cover turns up in Paul's other media outlets (What the tech, Windows Weekly) eventually anyway.

    I'm still on the fence regarding renewal, will regard more as sponsor/supporter than reflection of content value for money if I do.

    4 years ago
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  13. harmjr

    I will be renewing. The simple fact of no Ads and First Ring Daily is well worth it.

    4 years ago
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  14. aelaan

    I too see it like patronage, like paying for a magazine, you know the thing with paper sheets and colors held together with staples or some form of glue. Well this site is the electronic version and Brad is the glue... (hah couldn't resist). In all fairness they do present their views on the computing world. The site is growing, Paul is still writing books I think while Brad stands in the Ikea line up. The information shared here is actually good, like some more technical articles. The daily cynical review is never getting tired. I think this is a good team producing decent information. Like I said, to me it is a magazine.

    4 years ago
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  15. Jules Wombat

    I am not a premium subscriber, but Paul seems to be posting three or four interesting titled premium articles a week, and obviously the podcasts, Brad less so, and so more friendly to us normals.

    Not really convinced I am missing much, as Paul's articles are increasingly mainly cynical personal impressions rather than any factual content. And I am more interested in software development, mobile phone development, new devices and I not interested in legacy laptops, desktops or any Xbox stuff, so orthogonal to the premium content.

    4 years ago
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  16. Hougaard

    I'm currently premium, I gave it a chance, I like the idea about paying for content.

    But, if you look at the premium "content" as what you're getting for your money, it is a bit thin. A couple of premium posts every week, mostly "Paul's thoughtful corner" content and podcasts that spend 80% of the time in joyful bashing and recap of stuff written or soon-to-be-written/published.

    So I mostly looking at the premium payments as patronage.

    4 years ago
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  17. jimchamplin

    I pay because I read this site every day. I'd do that for more people if I had more income.

    4 years ago
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  18. irfaanwahid

    Thanks guys,

    I am also a every day reader of this site and follow Paul, Brad & Mary Joe and watch Windows Weekly, What The Tech and Sams Report. So I'm well aware of the people behind the site.

    I was just of the opinion I see a lot of interesting articles anyways which are not Premium. And Premium articles at most two in a week, so am I really missing anything.. well I guess that's something I need to look into.

    But thanks folks for the replies.

    4 years ago
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    • anchovylover

      In reply to irfaanwahid:

      Your life won't change either way whether you subscribe or not. That can be said about most subscriptions. Given you state you enjoy the site and watch the podcasts affiliated with this site then I have one question for you. Do you or do you not believe that is worth financially supporting the content you enjoy or not? As with everyone else, only you can answer that question.

      4 years ago
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  19. longhorn

    I only read articles - nothing else, well, I posted in the forum a few times. I feel I should support this site, but $64 feels too steep. $42 feels more within my budget. I support many projects... I do realize that a $42 pricetag would require 50% more subscribers for the same revenue. Anyone else like me that would support this site if it was cheaper?

    4 years ago
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  20. red.radar

    I am a premium subscriber to support the content creators. As was seen with the Microsoft killing paint debacle. This site is one of the few places you can get quality researched tech journalism that doesn't have click bait headlines.


    Not to mention its a great place to read about tech from all the major platforms without dealing with trolls in the comments or diversions into divisive politics. I want to read about technology, not about some cause someone thinks I should get upset over.


    4 years ago
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